MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes struck as Manchester United beat Real Betis 4-1 on Thursday and began the healing process after Sunday’s humiliating 7-0 rout by Liverpool.
Erik ten Hag’s players delivered a rousing response to the defeat at Anfield, with the Europa League quarterfinals within reach after a commanding round-of-16 first-leg win.
Antony and Wout Weghorst were also on target at Old Trafford, with Ayoze Perez scoring for Betis.
United could have taken an even more commanding lead into next week’s second leg after Weghorst, Rashford and Antony all failed to capitalize on further openings.
Ten Hag had given his players the chance to make amends for Sunday by naming an unchanged lineup to the one at Liverpool.
It had the desired effect, with Rashford smashing United in front after six minutes.
United could have extended the lead, but the game was even at halftime after on-loan Leicester forward Perez fired low shot past David de Gea in the 32nd.
Antony put United back in front seven minutes into the second half with a curling effort into the top corner from outside of the box.
Fernandes made it 3-1 when he headed in Luke Shaw’s corner in the 58th.
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the night came when Weghorst lashed the ball home in the 82nd after missing a host of earlier chances.
ARSENAL HELD
Premier League leader Arsenal was held 2-2 at Sporting Lisbon in their Europa League round-of-16 first-leg match.
Hidemasa Morita’s own goal in the 62nd minute salvaged the draw for Arsenal ahead of the return leg at Emirates Stadium next Thursday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
“There are things to improve, but we showed a lot of resilience,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
Morita deflected Granit Xhaka’s long-distance drive into his own net.
Arsenal, boosted by a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, dominated early possession and went ahead through William Saliba.
The defender headed in the opener for Arsenal from a corner from Fábio Vieira to capitalize on early pressure in the 22nd.
Arteta made six changes to his starting lineup compared with Saturday, giving defender Jakub Kiwior his debut at the back alongside Saliba.
Arsenal strikers Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah were missing for the game in Lisbon while former Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin was not available for Sporting due to a knee injury.
Sporting equalized with almost an identical reply, as Arsenal’s defense looked vulnerable.
Gonçalo Inácio headed home off a Marcus Edwards corner past goalkeeper Matt Turner 12 minutes after Saliba’s goal.
It was Sporting’s first goal against Arsenal in their fifth encounter in European competitions.
Ten minutes into the second half, Sporting turned the game around, with Paulinho putting the hosts ahead on a rebound.
“The tie is open, it’s difficult obviously,” Sporting coach Rúben Amorim said.
POGBA DROPPED
Ángel Di María headed in the winner in the second half to give Juventus a 1-0 first-leg win over Freiburg.
The 35-year-old veteran has scored four goals in his last two Europa League games. He had a hat trick against Nantes in the previous round.
Juventus was without midfielder Paul Pogba who was dropped due to “disciplinary reasons,” the Italian club said.
Elsewhere, Substitutes Joan Jordán and Erik Lamela scored a goal apiece in the second half to ensure a 2-0 win for six-time champion Sevilla over Fenerbahçe.
Ezequiel Bullaude equalized two minutes before the end to secure a 1-1 draw for Feyenoord at Shakhtar Donetsk, the last Ukrainian team left in this season’s European competitions.
Yaroslav Rakitskyy put the hosts 1-0 ahead. Shakhtar hosted in Warsaw because of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
RE-UNION
Substitute Sven Michel salvaged a 3-3 draw for Union Berlin against Union Saint-Gilloise with a goal a minute from the end in the German capital.
Victor Boniface scored twice for Union Saint-Gilloise, including the go-ahead goal in the 72nd minute before Michel’s equalizer.
The two sides already met in the group stage this season. The Belgian Union won 1-0 in Berlin while the German Union won by the same score in Brussels.
At Stadio Olimpico in Rome, José Mourinho’s Roma made a step toward advancing with a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
Tammy Abraham set up the opening goal for Stephan El Shaarawy to finish a fast counter in the first half before substitute defender Marash Kumbulla doubled the advantage with a close-range header three minutes from time.
Bayer Leverkusen had the same advantage over Ferencváros after their first-leg game. Kerem Demirbay opened the scoring for Leverkusen in the 10th, and Edmond Tapsoba added the second toward the end for the hosts.
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Michail Antonio struck twice late in the first half to guide West Ham past AEK Larnaca 2-0 in Cyprus.
Despite a troubled season in the Premier League, the Hammers have been cruising in the third-tier European competition with a perfect record.
Said Benrahma crossed for Antonio’s first with the striker doubling the advantage in stoppage time for his first two goals in the European campaign this season.
Manu Trigueros put Villarreal — a Champions League semifinalist last season, ahead in the first half before Anders Dreyer tied it at 1-1 with a second-half goal for Anderlecht in the draw in Brussels.
Fiorentina won 1-0 over Turkey’s Sivasspor, and Nice beat Sheriff away in Moldova 1-0, while Poland’s Lech Poznan defeated Swedish club Djurgarden 2-0. There were draws in the remaining games: Basel and Slovan Bratislava 2-2, Gent and Istanbul Basaksehir 1-1.
Lazio was upset at home 2-1 by AZ Alkmaar in a game played on Tuesday to avoid a clash at Stadio Olimpico with Roma’s game in the Europa League.
